Enough for Everyone: a blog

Welcome to Explorations in Just Living--the blog of the Enough for Everyone program of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). By "just living" we mean two things: embodying God's call to justice in our daily lives and "living simply so that others may simply live." We look forward to exploring with you.

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Communities

April 12, 2011

This year over 800 PC(USA) congregations ordered Eco-Palms for Palm Sunday worship services. This 10% increase in orders over last year means that together Presbyterians purchased over 150,000 Eco-Palm fronds. Eco-Palms are harvested sustainably and provide economic development opportunities for harvesting communities in Guatemala and Mexico.

If your congregation ordered, check the PC(USA) Eco-Palms website for info on when to expect your shipment, how to care for palms when they arrive, download a bulletin insert and 3-minute educational video, and more.

If your congregation didn't order, consider Eco-Palms for next year. Orders for 2012 will be open after the first of the year, so make a note to return to the website in January to place your order for Palm Sunday 2012 in advance.

October 22, 2010

The Presbyterian Hunger Program recommends the following November 10-19 delegation for Presbyterians interested in Haiti and in recovering its agricultural sector. Two of the host organizations, Agricultural Missions and FONDAMA (Haitian Hand to Hand Foundation), are partners of PHP, and the outcomes of this trip will help shape a new and growing US network of Presbyterians advocating for and helping Haiti.

March 12, 2010

As we journey the Lenten path at New Creation Presbyterian Church in O'Fallon IL, we are indeed bringing depth and meaning to this most sacred season. Instead of the traditional "giving something up for Lent," we are "giving something to someone for Lent." This year we are sponsoring Fontabella maternity home. It is a home for unwed mothers that has recently opened in our town.

Each Sunday during Lent our entire congregation brings baby items to donate. For instance, this week's specified items are diapers and/or diaper ointment. At the end of the Lenten season, the children of our congregation will put all the items together in bags. We are then going to take the kids to deliver these bags to Fontabella. Along with these items, we will be offering them information about our church. We pray to not only help support them financially with baby needs, but to also give them spiritual support and help them grow in their faith as they bring another child of God into this world.

March 01, 2010

During Lent this year, we are focusing on cultivating discipleship through service. “Every Member a Minister” invites every member of the congregation to commit to a ministry of service outside the walls of our church. We’re giving lots of suggestions, but also encouraging creativity (members can design a new project, work with others, etc). The idea is to seek discernment of one’s ministry during Lent through prayer and research. Representatives from various outside ministries will be present during coffee hours to answer questions and engage members (we also have written summaries of volunteer service needs on our website and posted on a dedicated bulletin board).

Once a ministry has been chosen, members fill out a commitment card, which will be posted on the bulletin board. Each Sunday during Lent, we will have a short“ministry dedication” prayer and each member who has declared a ministry will receive a woven bracelet as a reminder of their“yoke of service.”

One of the ministry options is a“ministry of prayer,” in which members commit to intentional intercessory prayer for all the ministries and ministers. They will receive regular updates of the ministries so their prayers can be very specific and so that they will feel part of the ministries. The discernment of ministry will take place in Lent; accomplishment of the ministry can happen during Lent or later in the Spring or Summer. Beginning in September, we will include a“witness” in every Sunday worship service which features a different ministry and how it hasmade a difference in the community and to the minister. Our twin taglines are“Serves ’em right. . . servesus right!”

February 26, 2010

This year for Ash Wednesday, our congregation did something new. Each of us wrote a sin on a paper and put it on a nail on the cross. I started thinking about the meaning of the word repentance, which is turning away from, and I started thinking about all the turning I wanted to do. I started thinking about the things I wanted to turn away from and the things I wanted to turn toward.

There is nothing magical about these 40 days. God does not love us more if we observe Lent, nor is God angry with us if we fail to do so. Many good Christians never give Lent a second thought, but if we choose we can make it a meaningful time of turning away from sin and toward God.

July 03, 2008

We are just back from the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in San Jose, CA. There we hosted the Global Marketplace in the exhibit hall, featuring both our long-term partner SERRV/A Greater Gift and 10 other smaller-scale crafts and fair trade groups whose mission is related to the PC(USA) and that of Enough for Everyone.

Beautiful scarves from Mayan Hands on display in the Global Marketplace. Photo by Joseph Williams.

The Assembly considered a number of overtures and items of business related to Enough for Everyone and lifestyle integrity, including the World Food Crisis, adoption of a denominational Responsible Purchasing policy, the re-creation of the PC(USA) Environmental Justice Office, the Publish What You Pay campaign and more. We will blog about these soon so stay tuned!

June 06, 2008

On May 10, 2008Church of the New Covenanthosted an event dedicated to green and sustainable living called, "Love Your Mother Earth Day." Suzanne Mikalsen, who helped coordinate the event said,"I joined the team to help spread the eco-word: about water conservation, responsible stewardship, wildlife importance, etc. The event started as an outreach effort. I believe we went much farther, sponsoring and lifting up this message for children and adults and sharing Christ in this way with our neighbors."

It is great to see churches putting together events highlighting numerous ways in which local communities may be involved in living green and caring for creation as a witness to God in the world. Included below is the write up of this event as it appeared in the Church of the New Covenant newsletter and a schedule of presenters for the event:

Love Your Mother Earth

A GreenAwareness Event

A Spectacular Success!

Love Your Mother Earth Day-What a terrific day Saturday May 10th was! What a great turnout! Great food, interesting talks, informative displays, activities and demonstrations, and lots of fun! Most impressive of all, however, were the effort so many people gave to make this event a successandthe excitement you generated in doing so. Curt S. & Suzanne H. are co-chairs of the Witness Committee, which sponsored the day; Curt and Suzanne did lots of the planning and structuring of the event. Suzanne M. met with tons of local merchants and obtained gift certificates, give-aways and the like – in addition to putting in hours of planning. Nancy M. obtained and prepared the food. Ann G. and James J. cooked tirelessly. Jeff D. did a heroic job of setting up and helping organize the church grounds – and he did some of the cooking, too. Richard R. helped out with setup. George T. lined up several presenters. Milly B. was very active in preparation activities. Bennie and Lucy, Kaitlyn and Jared J. were involved all day in setup and takedown. All our youth helped with flyer distribution on May 4, and Jared went out the day before with Suzanne H. Scott H. obtained canopies from several folks. Jason C. created the banner for the yard. Donna A. and Marty R. helped inflate 100 balloons and then greet everyone cheerfully. Many others gave presentations and demonstrations or led activities for children and adults.

Lots of neighbors from surrounding streets stopped by to enjoy a chicken leg, learn about composting or eco-friendly products, and to get to know some of our members. Everyone – participants, presenters, visitors – commented on how good it was to have an event like this out on our front lawn. Being visible in this way showed our neighborhood the wonderful spirit that makes Church of the New Covenant who we are:a congregation whose lives are anchored in prayer and praise, who practice God’s love in everything we do.

Many, many thanks to all of you.

--Rick Neale. Pastor

Included below is a list of presenters and events for "Love Your Mother Earth Day." Of special note on that list are the Earth Covenant Ministry (a new ministry of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta), and the Imam and the Columbia Seminary Professor, who participated in an interfaith dialogue on how our religious traditions inform our relationship with Creation.:Download lyme_presenters.doc

I want to extend a special thanks to Pastor Rick Neale and Suzanne Mikalsen for all their efforts in putting this event together. Also thanks to everyone at Church of the New Covenant for sharing your ministry with the world!